9.30.2008

meanwhile, back on the horn of africa...

One of my colleagues studies pirates (no, really) and she is absolutely fascinated with the saga that's been playing out along the Somali coastline all weekend. Seems a group of Somali pirates managed to capture a Ukranian boat loaded with tanks and weapons that was destined for Kenya. This is dangerous beyond belief; Somalia is completely lawless and, assuming they could find someone to unload the tanks (a big assumption), the weapons and vehicles could be sold on the international market to all kinds of bad guys.

Both the U.S. and Russia sent destroyers to track the shipe down, and it's basically surrounded now. There are reports today of a shoot-out between rival Somali pirates onboard, but their spokesman (the pirates have a spokesman!) says it's not so. They wanted a ransom of $20 million for the ship's crew, but then it went down to $5 million, and at this point, it's unclear what will happen. One member of the crew reportedly died of illness over the weekend.